Into the Depths

Last month, I began to think and write about, “Why Horror?” and what horror can offer. I’ve taken a deeper dive down the proverbial rabbit hole, or to align myself more closely with horror, down the well. Nothing good is ever in the well. But let’s think about it as a deep well of knowledge, for now anyway. Then, you can go back to thinking about that creepy girl who crawled out in The Ring.

As I’ve said before, people who dismiss the horror genre are missing out. I like to read horror novels and watch horror movies, almost exclusively. When I wrote my novella, Wounded, some people didn’t think it was horror, thinking it was to tame to be horror. There are a lot of books and movies that can be classified as horror and I think that is where some of the confusion lies, in the in-between. The genre is vast. When I do book signings and readings, I am careful in selecting which passages to share. I try to reach the average reader as well as the lovers of the scary and unsettling. When I read a section describing a local metaphysical shop, the reaction is often, “Oh. That doesn’t sound like horror.” But it is. That’s only one part of the tale. Then, I share a paragraph about rats to add in the creepy crawly factor. For me, it’s about the story. Most often I’m drawn to horror that is presented through good story telling.

Which brings me to another point. Is horror considered literature? Well, if you go about calling some books literature it is saying that some books aren’t. In saying some writers are literary, then in comparison, some writers aren’t. Maybe I’m an old softy, but I don’t think that’s ok. It diminishes us. I know, you can get all highbrow, drawing from the well of knowledge, debate this issue and that’s ok. Discussion is good. Geek out on horror all you want. I’ll join in the conversation!

So, are you going to put yourself in a category, and if you are, are you celebrating the fact that you write horror? In Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, She speaks of claiming your writing.

“We have trouble connecting with our own confident writing voice that is inside all of us, and even when we do connect and write well, we don’t claim it. I am not saying that everyone is Shakespeare, but I am saying everyone has a genuine voice that can express his or her life with dignity and detail.”

Ok. For our purposes, let’s say King rather than Shakespeare. Not everyone is Stephen King, but what we have to say has value.

The Academy Awards are right around the corner and horror will get overlooked as usual. Maybe one day more than Rosemary’s Baby, Misery, and The Silence of the Lambs will get recognition. There’s another debate right there: Is Silence of the Lambs horror? I think so! If you haven’t given horror a chance, why not give it a go? Go down into the well of knowledge. But don’t start with The Ring. We may never get you back!

Book recommendation

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

My guilty pleasure

Now, I say I read and watch horror exclusively, but…when I need a palate cleanser, I can be found searching for an old series and doing a little binge watching. I’m on a Bob Newhart kick at the moment.

Batty forever,

Greta

Photo: Taken at Old St. Stephens, Alabama. Old St. Stephens is now an abandoned town and serves as a site for archaeological studies. Supposedly, the town was cursed with a plague of bats and owls. Now, you can go down your own rabbit hole. You're welcome.